Lee has a first round bye and is seeded to face riccardo ghedin(wr534) in final round of qualies so lee should comfortabely qualify and it is on hard courts not clay like most spanish events.
Lee has a first round bye and is seeded to face riccardo ghedin(wr534) in final round of qualies so lee should comfortabely qualify and it is on hard courts not clay like most spanish events.
-- Edited by Jack at 14:03, 2007-07-28
I'm prepared to be proved wrong, but I think you're being unduly optimistic! Ghedin had a decent run over here on grass in the post-Wimbledon period, so he should have little trouble on the hard courts & will be no pushover!
Nice to see Lee going for a big event and chosing well with a weak(ish) qualies draw. Hopefully he can capitalise and qualify. I just hope it's as simple as that and he emulates Jamie Baker's antics this week!
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Stircrazy wrote: I'm prepared to be proved wrong, but I think you're being unduly optimistic! Ghedin had a decent run over here on grass in the post-Wimbledon period, so he should have little trouble on the hard courts & will be no pushover!
Sorry stircrazy i just looked at his ranking and did not do any research about his recent activity, still should win though considering lee is in quite form aswell
Childs is also in the doubles here, as is Jamie Delgado
(1) Delgado (GBR)/Norman (BEL) vs. Verdasco/Verdasco-Crespo (SPA) - Yes, that is Fernando Verdasco, the top 50 player playing here in both singles and doubles... guessing it is his home tournament, so not an easy draw for Jamie here.
Childs (GBR)/Jones (AUS) vs. Lacko (SVK)/Stakhovsky (UKR) - Not the worst draw, as neither of them are the greatest doubles players, so Lee could get a win if things go his way
Jamie and Lee would meet in the QF's if they win their first matches
Lee is the highest seed left in singles qualifying, so would get the LL spot if one became available
He will play either Lacko, Salva-Vidal, Bopanna or Norman if he qualifies
Possibly the second best draw he could have hoped for, but that is still a tough match in round 1, and he will do well to win it, and even if he does, he is likely to play Verdasco in round 2
Still, he has got a few points for qualifying, so that will push him up a few spots in the rankings
I must admit I'd given up on Lee achieving anything, but the last few months have been a real turn around for him. Really pleased he's qualified here; even one win here will do him well financially and ranking wise compared to most futures.
Well done to Lee for qualifying. Hopefully he can take out Lacko in the first round and take it from there. Top 50 players who lower themselves to challenger level often go out in the earlier rounds so all may not be lost, Lee just has to get there
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To look at a thing is quite different from seeing a thing and one does not see anything until one sees its beauty